"You could see the nerves and obviously that's part of the territory," Hundley said. "He's coming out throwing 97 (mph). It's good for the guys on the team. The future is really bright for him."

Gray's teammates rallied to keep him out of the loss column. Charlie Blackmon's homer in the first, the 10th leadoff blast of his career, made it 2-1, and Hundley hit a two-run shot to tie it at 3 in the fourth.

"You want to see your team fight like that. They pick you up as much just as much as you can pick them up," Gray said.

After he departed, the wheels came off for the free-falling Rockies.

Cruz hit his 31st home run of the season and singled to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. And Franklin Gutierrez's two-run, pinch-hit single in the sixth off reliever Christian Friedrich (0-3) gave the Mariners the lead for good.

For Colorado, DJ LeMahieu bounced back from striking out five times Monday with two hits. And Kyle Parker hit his first major league home run.